There are some challenges for grape producers this year:

Egypt

Weather conditions during the flowering and growing phases were challenging this year, resulting in reduced yields of light seedless grapes. In some regions, where especially early varieties such as Early Sweet and Prime are grown, we expect a crop reduction of 20-30% compared to previous years. The situation for dark seedless grapes is comparatively better, as production areas have been expanded in recent years.

Availability can therefore be guaranteed until week 26/27. In week 21/22 some logistical challenges in the port of Damiette led to low availabilities However, we expect the situation to normalise soon.

Italy

Due to the significantly higher rainfall than usual in May, additional costs for crop protection were incurred. Mainly large cooperatives were affected, smaller producers were not able to supply their fields optimally due to the costs. Therefore, rather smaller calibres are to be expected for the light seeded early varieties.

Although the grapes are still in the final growth phase, we can expect a good harvest overall for the seedless varieties. Special varieties like Arra-30 will be available in sufficient quantities. More detailed information will be available in the coming weeks.

Spain

The rains of the last weeks have also caused production problems in Spain. Producers in Murcia and Alicante had to protect their fields from fungal infestation because they received six months’ rainfall in only one week.

It therefore remains to be seen whether all fields can meet the specifications for the German market. Due to the relatively cool month of May, the start of harvest is expected to be delayed by a few days, although we will have to wait and see how things develop and the weather conditions in June. The biggest challenge will be the availability of early crop with appropriate specifications.

Currently, we expect the harvest in Murcia to start in the first week of July – followed by Alicante.

Greece

Greece also had a lot of rain in April and May. However, according to the current status, these will not have a significant impact on the grape harvest. Currently, we expect a normal season.

June 2023